Video Transcription
How to Capitalize On the Norton Commons Trend in Louisville- Areas to Watch!
Hey all! I wanted to post this article and video for the local investors and every day home buyers in Louisville about where you need to look for your next house purchase. I just read an article from Leo that talks about David Tomes, the man who developed Norton Commons, and his idea of “New Urbanism“. Where he first gained the vision for the neighborhood came from the time he spent in Seaside, FL 40 years ago. He saw what the sleepy beach town was becoming. A unique mixed use of commercial and residential real estate blended perfectly with the white sandy beaches many Louisvillians are familiar with. It’s a beautiful town. Positioned in between Destin and Panama City on route 30A. You can walk and bike to shops and restaurants like you can in Norton Commons- minus a beach 🙁
The reason why I wanted to bring up this article and make a video on it is I think there’s a lot of unique opportunities in Louisville even with it being a sellers market. There’s many areas that have underdeveloped commercial real estate that are ready to be revitalized. Norton Commons is different than what I’m about to share. It was an example of someone developing old farm land, just an idea in someone’s head. One that has worked extremely well. Norton Commons and now many other similar developments were inspired by Seaside. The idea has spurred all across the Midwest and South where land is really cheap. Developers are able to come in and make use of the land and implement the mixed use of commercial and residential real estate within close proximity. This leads me to a few examples other than Norton Commons in Louisville that have worked.
Germantown and NuLu
If you look at Germantown 10 years ago one could have bought a house for the third of what you could buy for today. The fix and flips of the shotgun style homes has created a revitalization in the area offering affordable housing for millennials. Once private money saw the opportunity and construction began business owners wanted to open shop in Germantown because it became such a hot area! Don’t forget about the Germantown Lofts either- some of the best apartments available in the city!
NuLu is more commercial, but it’s been a positive amenity to all the communities around it even for people that live way out. They want to come into NuLu and check out the shopping, go to some of the bars and restaurants and hang out. It’s within walking distance to parts of downtown and Slugger Field.
So what areas in Louisville are the next Germantown and NuLu?
In the next 10 to 15 years these areas stand out to me in Louisville:
Butchertown is already becoming really nice with the soccer stadium and nearby are the Botanical Gardens. Only $4 of the $20 or so million has been spent on the Botanical Gardens. It’s going to be really, really nice, not only for the city but for Butchertown as well. Not to mention what’s already in place with the great selection of places to eat on Frankfort Ave. will only continue to grow the area!
Shelby Park and Portland– that’s going to be nice in the next five to 10 years from what I’ve heard from other developers. Portland will have the riverfront park be extended through their neighborhood and further into the West End in coming years. Also, I believe they’re taking river road all the way through to Portland too giving you easy driving access to downtown. Lots of private money is going into fix and flips there now as well as government money into the parks and road construction. You can purchase properties there in Portland for like $10,000, $20,000.
It’s nothing new, that style of commercial and residential real estate tied together because I think it provides a sense of community. Neighbors and business owners naturally have the chance to interact frequently. You feel more part of the community when you have places to meet. Whether it’s you have churches there, schools, restaurants, things like that, shopping. What I’m getting to is there’s lots of opportunities out here in Louisville still for residential and commercial development. I know it’s a seller’s market, but you’re going to be able to find the right opportunities if you’re looking in those areas that I talked about.
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